Dusting off a classic

September 27, 2006 on 9:33 am | In Game Reviews, Uncategorized |

Here at 3RD sense, Lightning Pool has been our most popular game by far. According to the UK television station Channel 4, it’s actually one of the world’s most popular casual games — coming in at number 3 overall on the day I wrote this post, and number 1 for sports games.

According to one school of thought, you shouldn’t touch the classics. Let them lie, it is argued, even when the times move on and they start to show their age.

We considered that option, but decided to take the opposite approach — dusting off this classic and giving it a new engine, fittings and duco.

Engine. We completely recreated Lightning Pool using the latest version of Flash.

In particular, we used a Flash technology called Shared Objects. This technology is a bit like web browser cookies in that it allows Flash to store data on the player’s own PC. Most of our 1.2 million users don’t register to play Lightening Pool, but with Shared Objects they will still be able to use features like our new medal tallyboard system, described below.

It’s worth noting that just like with cookies, the Flash user also has ultimate control over whether Shared Objects are stored on their PC. Just right-click (or on a Mac, control-click) on any Flash animation, select Settings and then click Advanced. This takes you through to the Flash Player Settings Manager web page. Select the Global Privacy Settings Panel, click the second tab, and then deselect “Allow third-party Flash content to store data on your computer”.

Fittings. These range from new tricky levels to a new medal tallyboard system and to the addition of spin.

The new levels will include a ‘Ghost’ level, where some of the balls will let the others pass right through them, laughing maniacally, an ice hockey rink and a level inspired by the Playaholics game Jewel Thief.

Spin is one of the major new features and affects how the white ball behaves after it strikes a red or black ball. Without spin, the ball will stop after a collision. Using the arrow keys players can now create, top, back, left and right spin, enabling the white ball to travel forwards, backwards or in either direction after a collision. The advantages here are obvious for players, giving them the chance to place the white ball advantageously for their next shot.

Of course the game will still play without spin — it’s just an option we think many players will use and enjoy, especially when they reach the tougher new levels.

With the new medal tallyboard system, players will finish each level of Lightening Pool in either a bronze, silver or gold medal time. Players score points for each level and each medal. Thanks to our use of Flash Shared Objects, these points will grow from one play session to the next. As they play more and more, they’ll build up more medals and higher scores. We think this will be an interesting way of keeping players drawn in to the game.

Duco. Of course, this is the first thing you’ll notice. The whole game feels fresh and “of our time”, with completely new artwork.

Version two of Lightning Pool has everything that helped the original reach the top of the Channel 4 casual game charts, but with a range of new features that we hope will sustain its popularity in the years to come. Watch for Lightning Pool 2 on Playaholics, and let us know what you think.

The Little Gamer